


Shaking The Snow Loose

by Eternal Scribe (Shadowcat)



Category: Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)
Genre: Multi, Yuletide 2012
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-19
Updated: 2012-12-19
Packaged: 2017-11-21 12:31:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/597797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowcat/pseuds/Eternal%20Scribe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Defeating Ravenna and taking her rightful throne did not <i>make</i> her a Queen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shaking The Snow Loose

**Author's Note:**

  * For [eli](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eli/gifts).



> There was so much more I wanted to do with this, but knew that I would never be able to fit everything I wanted to have by the deadline.
> 
> Also, the Huntsman named himself Liam in my head, so that's where his name came from. It wasn't until after the story was written that I found his name was Eric on Wikipedia.

Defeating Ravenna and taking her rightful throne did not _make_ her a Queen.

Leading an army to the castle did not _make_ her a warrior, either.

She had the people's love because of who she was, but she still had a great deal to do to gain the people's trust and she seemed to understand that more than William did.

“You killed Ravenna,” William said one night when the three of them were finally left alone in Snow’s private chambers. “You killed her and saved the lives and souls of everyone. What more do some of these people want from you?”

“They want to be reassured that they didn’t trade one tyrant for another, William,” Snow said softly, shaking her head. “After everything this land and its people have been through, you cannot fault them for that.”

“You are nothing like that witch,” he protested. “You died for them and that is something she never would have done. The land already has started awakening to greet you.”

“Not all of the people were at the encampment with your father and saw Snow come back from the dead,” Liam said in is quiet rumble. “They did not witness the miracle that you and I did. They need more assurance than we did. After all, some of these people are either too young to remember the King or are too abused to remember anything about Snow but the pain that they felt when her father was murdered. Until what happened here, everyone thought she had perished. You, yourself, thought that she had died all of those years ago.”

Snow sighed and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes. “Some of their concerns have merit, Will. I don’t _know_ how to be a Queen. I don’t _know_ how to be the warrior for the land and them that they want me to be.”

“So we help you learn,” William said with determination. “We can teach you what you need to know.”

“You and your father and friends can help her learn to run a kingdom and the courtesies and mannerisms that she must pretend to have for some of these people, yes,” Liam agreed. “And I can teach her to be the Warrior that they need her to be, but then what?”

William turned to look at the man that had become his friend. “What do you mean?”

“He means that I can be taught all of these things, but I must work out among the people to earn their trust,” Snow’s voice was firm. “I cannot hide behind the walls of my castle and never go out among my people and learn about their lives and their needs. I will not be a Queen in name only. I will be the Queen they need me to be and to do that, they must see me. They must see that I am not afraid to leave my walls and come among them.” Snow started pacing the room, her footsteps barely making a sound. “The people need to be reunited as one kingdom again, yet how can they trust a Queen they cannot see and do not know?” She turned to look at both of her men. “I will not be a Queen through fear because they do not know me beyond the fact that I was the beloved daughter of their murdered King.”

“But it could be dangerous,” William warned her. He wasn’t trying to talk her out of this, he was just trying to make sure she knew what she could be facing while doing this. “We don’t know if there are any men left that were loyal to Ravenna and Finn.”

“Anything worth having can be dangerous, William,” Snow said gently as she turned to look at both of them. “That was one lesson that Ravenna taught me for all of those years. Just being alive was dangerous for me. Why do you think she hired Liam to find me when I escaped? She wanted him to kill me and bring her my heart. But he didn’t. He helped protect me, instead, and then you went against your father’s orders to come to find me by hiding as a member of Finn’s mercenaries. All of that was dangerous to you both, but your freedom was worth something, as was the risk you had decided to take. This is the path I need to take and I need to accept the risks that this may lead me to. I cannot be a Queen if I am afraid to take the risks to learn what my people need most from me.”

Liam watched Snow pace and then he nodded, looking at William. “She’s right. If she stays behind these walls and doesn’t interact with the common people, she might as well be merely playing at being the Queen and be bait for any person who thinks they can take the throne from her.”

“How dare you?” William demanded in shock. “You, of all people?”

“I dare because I love her, too, William. The only way for people to learn to trust their ruler is for their ruler to be accessible to them. She needs to show them that she is the Queen and that she will defend their interests and protect them from their enemies. They need to know that she will treat any disputes brought to her in a fair and just manner.”

“You and Liam will be among the men that go with me, William,” Snow said, coming back to sit at the table. “The two of you are my most trusted and I know that you would not be in agreement with staying behind to oversee the training of the new men that have signed on to my service, Therefore, while we are afield talking to the people, your father with take on the task of the new soldiers.” Snow nodded as she spoke. Her hands were moving along the table in front of her as they made plans until Liam reached over and put his hand over hers.

“You are not doing this alone, Snow,” he said quietly, but firmly. “William and I will always be with you and you will learn what you need to. You are the best Queen this land could have and the land knows that. Now, it is up to you to show the people of the kingdom how very right you are.”

Snow White let out a breath and then looked from William to Liam. “So we are decided, then?”

Liam nodded. “We are decided.”

William sighed, but then he nodded as well. “It angers me a great deal that you still have to fight for your rightful place, but I will do what I can to help you do just that.”

Snow gave him a smile. “Someone told me once that if something is too easy to attain, then it is not something worth having.”

Even Liam snorted at this. “I fail to see how anything that you have gone through in your life since Ravenna arrived here could be considered _easy_ , Princess.”

“The weight on my head has to be heavy, but my heart must be light to balance it out,” she explained. “If I give in to despair over what might be in front of me, I can never be the Queen that my father meant me to be.”

Liam frowned. “I believe that is where you will keep making the mistake,” Liam said solemnly. “Do not keep saying that you are going to be the Queen your father meant you to be.”

“He’s right, Snow,” William said, dropping down into one of the chairs at the table with them. “King Magnus was a good man and a just king, but that time is long since gone. If you will not rely on your father’s name to make you their rightful Queen, then you cannot rely on his teachings, either.”

Liam exchanged a glance with William and then looked back at Snow.

“Muir said it best, you will heal the land. That is what the people need to see. They need to see the land come awake at your touch like I witnessed the tree behind the white hart do when he blessed you. To the people, land is prosperity and when it comes to life in front of them again, then they will see that you are the proper and rightful Queen that we all know you to be.”

“But how do I do that?”

“How did you do it in the forest?” William’s question was a logical one.

“I don’t know, it just happened!” She said, shaking her head. “Something pulled me deeper into the forest and then he was speaking to me. The tree behind him just seemed to bloom as we spoke.”

“You never spoke a word out loud,” Liam said quietly, looking into her face. “You were speaking with the land the way it was speaking to you – through your heart.”

“That’s the answer,” William agreed. “You’re thinking too much about everything you should do or cannot do. You need to turn off your brain and lead the way with your heart.”

“That’s not an answer, William. That’s a riddle.”

“Only because you are thinking too much on it, Snow.” He counseled gently. “If you stop thinking too much on the whys and hows and just follow your heart like you did in battle for the castle, you’ll know what you need to do.” He reached out and took her hand again. “Remember the speech you gave us at my father’s when you first came back from the dead; it was the speech that rallied everyone – even my father – to fight beneath your banner.”

“But I don’t remember what I said! I was just speaking with emotion and not measuring the words that were coming out. I just knew upon waking that we had to do _something_ and that the time for waiting and planning was done.”

Liam smiled. “Sometimes the best battle cries are the ones that have no thought put behind them.” He took her other hand in his so that the two men were anchoring her. “You put your feelings into words without trying to. You didn’t stop and measure each thing that you were saying, you just said them and the words from your heart inspired the hearts of others. You are not trained in battle, but seasoned men followed you because you were the heart of the battle. You gave them something to believe in and to fight for.”


End file.
